Intactivism

I LOVE foreskin. I wish that were all I had to say. Unfortunately, there’s a comparison to be made, and it isn’t one of two different naturally occurring penises. If it were, I wouldn’t bother to tell people why I liked one and not the other. But, because there is force involved, and because I’m an activist opposing that force, I must also say that I can’t fully enjoy circumcised sex, and why. This is my personal opinion, and not something that anyone has to agree with in order to understand that forced circumcision is wrong; but it is just another example of how forcing amputation on one body effects more people than just the one who was cut.

When I first became sexually active, I wasn’t comfortable touching my boyfriend’s penis. Something was just wrong about it. Even though he said he enjoyed it, I felt that what I was doing must be painful. I didn’t know how hard my touch should be, and the friction creeped me out in a way I didn’t even understand. All it took was ONE stroke of an intact penis and I understood everything! There was no hesitation or worry that I was doing something wrong. It was sexy and fluid. I realized that there was a big difference and I started paying attention. I’ve been lucky that a good percentage of my lovers have been intact, and this is what I’ve learned about myself, and both types of penises.

Feeling connected is what I enjoy the most about sex. In fact, it’s probably 80% of my arousal. Intimacy is the point; the physical acts are just how I get there. So, if I don’t feel connected, the physical act is literally less pleasurable. Read more . . .

I hate, hate, HATE the arguments, "My son needs to be circumcised because girls will make fun of him if he isn't" or "It looks gross." These statements just highlight the fact that circumcision is a 100% cosmetic procedure, something that is done to make a boy conform to the aesthetic standards of his parents. Ok, for those of you who have never seen an intact, erect adult penis - here ya go. Now, was that so scary? It pretty much looks like an intact circumcised penis - or does it?

Circumcision removes healthy, important skin. It makes sense that this procedure would have some undesirable side effects. The problem is, since circumcision is so widespread, these problems seem NORMAL and are seen as acceptable! "I was circumcised and I was fine! But, my penis curves and my pubic hair extends onto the shaft. And it is two different colors. But that's all normal and unrelated." Scarring caused by the surgery is hardly noticeable to the average person, but once you realize that penises are not meant to look that way - the results are glaringly obvious. Read more . . .

I was "circumcised" the day I was born, like most. Next to the words "reason to operate" were the hand written words "live birth". Since when is "live birth" a disease? My mother claims that she does not remember signing a consent form, so I assume they forged her signature.

Like most men, I was not aware of what was missing while growing up. When I noticed the drawings of Greco-Roman nudes and statues, I asked my mother "Why didn't they finish drawing it?" I guess she explained this to me, but I have no audible memory of her words. I was trying to figure out what she was saying, and was thoroughly confused.

When mother told me that I could be drafted one day, I told her I would cut my penis off She replied "You will bleed to death." I hadn't bled to death from the scar they gave me, and could not figure out how they did this. I was glad I did not have to do it again, but was instinctively curious.

When I grew older, in the back of my mind, I was always curious as to what that foreskin thing was all about. I had mixed and confused feelings, but knew that I wish I had been consulted. Assuming my Dad was cut, I was surprised to find out that he was not circumcised when he told me 35 years later. I grew up in a family that did not support nudity as anything good, so much so that when I went to life drawing classes, I was mortified. That mortification was intensified when I first witnessed a "circumcision." Read more . . .

I received the following letter from Georganne Chapin, the Executive Director of Intact America. Intact America is an organization that advocates for bodily integrity for all infants, particularly baby boys. They seek to protect baby boys from genital cutting, otherwise known as routine infant circumcision.

Georganne is seeking funds to continue their campaign to stop male infant circumcision. She writes: Read more . . .

Parents, protect your babies. Support intactivism. The following list includes blogs, articles, and websites of interest to Intactivists that were published in the past week. This is a running tally of the ones I found interesting.

This week marks the 40th anniversary of Van Lewis's arrest for intactivism. Van lewis and his brother were jailed in Florida's capital city, on 17 December, 1970, for peacefully protesting against infant circumcision while on the public sidewalk in front of Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. They were charged with disturbing the peace and spent a day in jail. Van continues as an intactivist.

Looking for the perfect holiday present for that someone special? How about a book? How about a book celebrating the foreskin?

I Want My Foreskin for Giftmas would be a unique gift. Author Carl J. Schutt wrote a book for adults that is an educational and eye-popping look at how one man searches for what was lost during his circumcision. He even has a sing-along video on YouTube.

The book is illustrated with cut paper and starts out with the verse

The first time I went searching
I looked under a rock
for that little ring of flesh
belonging to my cock.

The book is very colorful and would be great sitting on a coffee table. It is also a great conversation starter for those friends and relatives who are about to give birth and may be thinking of circumcising their newborn boy. Read more . . .

Baby Mario was born this summer in a South Miami, Florida, hospital. Due to complications (some type of infection), baby Mario was in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for ten days. While in the hospital, Mario's mother Vera Delgado explicitly and repeatedly told the hospital staff that she did not want her son circumcised. She refused to sign the consent form for the circumcision surgery.

Despite all this, Mario was circumcised. On the eighth day of Mario's stay in the NICU and after Vera Delgado left her son's side to go home and shower, a doctor removed baby Mario from the NICU and circumcised him. Without consent. Without the parents being present. Without consideration that the infant was in the NICU and should not have to undure the stress of circumcision surgery. Read more . . .

I'm new to this forum and thought I would introduce myself. I'm a 25 (almost 26) year old woman, and definitely consider myself an intactivist.

I used to be one of those girls that thought an intact penis was kinda strange, and that I would probably circumcise my sons because it had been done to basically every penis I had seen. I discovered the TLC Tugger website a little over a year ago when I was doing some research on phimosis. I am a very curious and open-minded person and decided to look around some more. I was shocked to find the real differences between an intact penis and a circumcised one!

I was in a relationship at the time, and had been having sexual issues for quite a while. My partner was of average size and was very caring, but something just never felt quite "right" about our sex life. In fact, sex had been a frustrating part of my life for some time, as it had always been a little bit painful and awkward for me. There were times when I liked it, but it was never quite what I envisioned it to be. Read more . . .

I am an intactivist because I want to see the day when parents respect the genital integrity and autonomy of their children. If surgery is not medically necessary to correct a birth defect or disease, then the child should not be cut, period.

I am a son who was circumcised shortly after birth. I do not like it. I hate my circumcision. Many young men who were circumcised also do not like that part of their sex organ was cut off. Thanks to the Internet, more young men are learning what circumcision does. It removes erogenous tissue from the penis. The foreskin is there for a reason and these young men are upset that it was removed before they were old enough to object. Read more . . .

The Rape of Innocence: Female Genital Mutilation in the U.S.A. is a book written by a woman who had her genitals cut as a child growing up in Kansas in the United States. Many people do not know that female genital mutilation was commonly practiced in the United States up until the 1960s. Insurance paid for it until the 70s and FGM became illegal only in 1996.

Patricia Robinett desribes growing up mutilated. Female circumcision affected her childhood and continued to affect Patricia as an adult. She is now a therapist who helps others with trauma.

Her female genital mutilation made Patricia very aware of the atrocity of cutting the genitals of any child. Patricia is an avid intactivist. She fights for genital integrity of both girls and boys. Female circumcision is virtually wiped out in the United sates. Male circumcision had decreased to about 54% of newborn boys in 2006.

The winds seem to be blowing for a change in the genital mutilation culture of the United States. Unfortunately, it is a foul wind that is starting to blow. Last year the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced that they were reconsidering their stance on male infant circumcision. After a public outcry, the CDC backpedaled, somewhat. Read more . . .

Who is this guy?

Restoring Tally is just an ordinary guy who had to confront his prostate and circumcision problems. This site chronicles his journey in dealing with these issues. He has had prostate surgery and he is restoring his foreskin.